We'll Go Through This Together
by Anno1701
Summary: After the three days in the infirmary, Nico and Will have become close friends. But somehow, Nico has this strange feeling in his stomach when he's with the son of Apollo. He couldn't tell Will about his feelings, could he? And what would happen, when another war was going to come and it didn't look good for both Camps? SOLANGELO
1. Explosions In The Morning

**Hey there! So this is the first chapter of my Solangelo fanfiction. It's the first story I write about Percy Jackson (I've written other stories before) and I hope you like it. I know that it's boring at the beginning, but it'll get more interesting very soon ;) It would be nice if you keep on reading and write reviews, that's really motivating and then I can update much more quickly. I would love to hear your thoughs to this chapter!**

 **I don't own the characters or places in this story!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

Nico POV

 _His dreams were dark. Very dark, to be exact. But that wasn't a surprise since Nico was a son of Hades, the God of the Underworld._

 _He saw many different things; the imagines just appeared like flashes of light. And between them there was darkness. Darkness and silence. It didn't bother Nico very much; even if there were just a few moments in which he could sleep without seeing bad things, he appreciated them. Normally, something like that didn't happen._

 _First, there was Bianca, his sister who'd died a long time ago (at least it felt like a long time to Nico). He saw her laughing and smiling about something he'd said and she just looked happy. There was this look on her face which he hadn't been able to interpret until now. It was love and it showed how much she'd cared about Nico._

 _Then the image changed and he was in Camp Half-Blood, some time before the war against Kronos and the other Titans had started. The other Demigods hadn't liked him very much and he hadn't really cared about it. He could have tried to get some friends, but it was easier to push the others away and stay alone with his thoughts and feelings. Then, there was no one who could ask stupid questions._

 _Suddenly, he saw Camp Jupiter again and the time he'd spent there. It had been nearly the same as in Camp Half-Blood, but Nico hadn't cared about the Demigods there as well. The only thing which made him feel uneasy was to pretend that he was a son of Pluto, and not Hades. But since when had he cared about his father? Never._

 _And then there was the war against Gaea and the Giants. Nico saw their faces and remembered their voices. And then there was Tartarus. The darkness there had been different from everything he'd seen or felt before. It was like a silent evil which was creeping towards your heart slowly..._

* * *

A loud explosion made Nico wake up from his dream. The ground of the Hades Cabin in Camp Half-Blood was shaking and he could hear someone crying. It didn't sound as if it was close to his Cabin, but either way he stood up quickly and searched some clothes he could wear. As usual, he decided for a black t-shirt and a jeans and when he looked into the mirror, Nico saw that he was very pale. There were dark shadows under his eyes and it seemed as if he hadn't slept for many days. Which was - somehow - true.

When he opened the door to leave the building, he was blinded by the sun that had just appeared above Half-Blood Hill. Nico resisted the urge to take a step back again and looked around for a few seconds. After the days in the infirmary, Nico had begun to feel more comfortable here in the camp. He knew that he had friends and was accepted. His role as Head Counselor of the Hades Cabin gave him a task to do and even if it was a calm day, there always was something going on in the camp.

And then there was Will. Will Solace, the blond, blue-eyed son of Apollo who used to confuse Nico very much. During the battle against Gaea, Will had done everything to show Nico that he was accepted at Camp Half-Blood and that he should stay there - which he had done in the end. He had also been furious about him using his powers too much (for example by shadow travelling a very tall statue hundreds of miles) and it seemed as if he cared for him. At least Nico thought that since he had to stay in the infirmary for three days because of Will. To his surprise, the days had been over far too soon and after that, Nico found himself visiting Will very often.

Somehow, talking to Will made him... happy. And that was something Nico hadn't been in a very long time. With him, he could just forget the world and all the darkness which used to surround him. It hadn't taken them long to become best friends. But was it normal that you had this strange feeling in your stomach when you were talking to your best friend? And that you felt kind of electrified when he touched you?

"Hey Nico!" A voice called and ripped him out of his thoughts. Slowly, Nico turned around to see who was walking towards him. Jason Grace was smiling widely, but something in his posture told him that something was wrong.

"Jason, what's up?" Nico asked, nodding at the son of Zeus. "You look like something happened. Is it about the explosion I've heard some time ago?"

Slowly, Jason raised his eyebrows and his smile turned into an unbelieving grin. "You look like you haven't slept for ages, and yet you are able to see through me so easily?" He shook his head and began to walk towards the Hephaestus Cabin, making a gesture that Nico should follow him. "You're right, by the way. I've heard the noise too and I'm on my way to see what's going on there."

"You know that you're not responsible for it, right?"

"Jason always thinks that he's responsible for everything!" Now both Jason and Nico turned around to see Piper leaving her cabin. She kissed Jason on the cheek quickly and when she looked at Nico, she frowned a little bit. Of course she turned away so that he couldn't see the look which appeared on her face now. However, he could imagine what it looked like very well.

"You're talking about Percy, not me." Jason murmured and Nico couldn't stop himself from grinning. It was true; Percy always thought that he was able to deal with everything that happened in the camp.

"No, I think I know my boyfriend." Piper began and it looked like she wanted to say something else as well, but the sound of another explosion stopped her from doing that.

They headed towards the Hephaestus Cabin quickly, just to see that dark smoke was coming out of the doors and windows. Apparently, everyone had already left the building since many people stood in front of it and didn't seem to know what to do now.

"That's all your fault!" A tall, brown-haired boy said loudly and pointed at another son of Hephaestus, who was covered in black dust.

"My fault? I think you were the one who wanted to start the experiment today, and not tomorrow like it was planned!"

"You said that it would work very well, even if we hadn't made the final tests-"

"I said that? And why can't I remember it? I think that you were the one who said it!"

Piper, Jason and Nico exchanged looks quickly and in a silent agreement, they began to walk backwards without stopping to look at the sons of Hephaestus who were shouting at each other very loudly. This wasn't something they wanted to chime in. Sometimes, it was better to leave them alone than to try to help them because it only made things worse, not better.

"What happened here?" This time, Nico didn't have to turn around to see who was speaking. Will sounded worried and he understood why. The son of Apollo always took care of injured people and the sound of the explosion had made him think that something bad had happened.

"Nothing too bad." Nico murmured and finally turned around to look at his friend. Will's hair was a complete mess and it looked like he'd just jumped out of bed. He was wearing a white t-shirt together with a jeans and Nico realized that he wasn't wearing shoes. "An experiment went wrong and now they're trying to decide who's responsible for it."

"That happens very often." Jason added and he and Will exchanged a smile.

"So I've hurried up without having a reason for it?" Will asked and raised his eyebrows at Nico again, who couldn't stop himself from grinning any longer.

"Apparently." He answered and pointed at his feet. "I think you can still put on your shoes before breakfast."

At that comment, Will rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "You seem to be in a good mood, Death Boy." He muttered. However, he grinned as well and without thinking about it twice, the two of them began to walk towards the Apollo Cabin slowly. "But I don't like the way you look. When was the last time you've slept?"

At that question, the strange feeling in Nico's stomach returned, but he tried not to show it. "Last night. Not very good, I have to admit, but I've slept. You should know that being a son of Hades doesn't mean that I dream of sheep and the sun at night."

"Very funny, Nico. Really very funny." Will murmured and shook his head. "You look really bad. And I think I know what might help you."

Now Nico looked at his friend questioningly and Will's lips twitched. "After I've put on a pair of shoes, we'll go and have breakfast together."

"You must be very brave when you want to sit on my table. Normally, people avoid to come too close to a person who's as scary as I am."

"I don't think you're scary." Will replied immediately and turned away quickly when he realized how he'd sounded. Nevertheless, Nico noticed that he blushed and that made his grin grow even wider.

"Well, then I think we should go." When Will wanted to change the direction and walk towards the middle of the camp, Nico raised his hand to make him stop again. "After you've put on some shoes, Solace. It's kind of disgusting to eat without having shoes on."

With a sigh, Will shook his head and turned around again to enter his cabin. "You're going to be the death of me, Nico!" He shouted, but Nico thought that he'd seen an amused sparkle in his eyes.


	2. Dream On, Sunshine

**Hey there! So here's the next chapter! I hope you like it and I would be really happy to see some reviews, it's always great to read them! :)**

 **I don't own the characters!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

Nico POV

"Nico, you're going to be in my team during capture the flag!" A voice announced loudly and both Will and Nico looked up to see Percy and Annabeth walking towards their table. They were holding hands and Annabeth grinned triumphantly, so Nico supposed that she was on her boyfriend's team as well. Which wasn't a surprise since she'd played against him last time - and won (Nico had been on her team, together with Jason).

Seeing them together didn't bother Nico anymore, so he just grinned at them and nodded. "That's great! Who else will be with us?"

"Aphrodite and Ares." Percy replied immediately and smiled widely.

"So it's clear that we'll win." Annabeth added with a superior expression on her face. "No offense to you, Will. I mean, you Apollo guys are great, but we've got the stronger Demigods in our team."

At her words, Will nearly spat out his orange juice. "We won't be on your team?" He asked unbelievingly and looked from Annabeth to Percy and after that to Nico. His expression showed pure disbelief and Nico thought that he also looked shocked. But that couldn't be true, could it? Why should Will be angry because he's not on their team? After all, they'd played against each other several times before. _But that was before you became best friends..._ A little voice inside his head said, but Nico quickly shoved that thought away.

"Afraid of losing against me, Solace?" He asked and raised his eyebrows slowly.

Will seemed to realize that his outburst had attracted the attention of the others, but instead of blushing he just shook his head. "No way, Death Boy. I just think about the effects losing will cause on you and your team."

At that, Nico crossed his arms. "Dream on, Sunshine." He'd whispered those words, so that only Will could hear them. He didn't think that it was the right moment for Percy and Annabeth to hear his nickname for the son of Apollo.

"Who said that we're gonna lose?" Piper and Jason sat down next to him and Nico saw Jason raising his eyebrows at his girlfriend. With a sheepish expression on his face, the son of Zeus held up his hand.

"Me?" He asked and made his voice sound uncertain, which made Percy, Annabeth and Nico laugh loudly. Even Piper couldn't stop herself from smiling and when he turned around, Nico noticed that Will was grinning as well.

"You're completely wrong. You can't defeat us." Percy made a gesture as if he'd already won the game and Annabeth rolled her eyes so that he couldn't see it.

"Then we should go and make plans, Seaweed Brain." The daughter of Athena stood up and grabbed her boyfriend's hand, so that he couldn't do anything except following her when she headed towards the Poseidon Cabin.

"I think they're sweet." Piper said suddenly and the three boys on Nico's table looked at her in a confused way. When she realized that they were staring at her, Piper only shrugged. "My mum's the goddess of love, remember?" No one of them had the intention to say anything to that, so Piper sighed and stood up as well. "I'll see you when the game starts." With those words, she left the table and slowly, Jason started to leave the table too.

"We'll win this, I'm sure of it." He said to Will, patted Nico on the shoulder and left without another word.

"What was this about?" Will asked and gestured towards the son of Zeus, but Nico just shrugged.

"I don't know. Sometimes he behaves as if I'm his little brother or something like that."

"And it doesn't bother you?" Did he imagine it, or was Will sounding angry? Well, he could tell for sure that his friend sounded displeased, which wasn't normal for him. But what...?

"I don't think that Jason could stop it. He's trying to show me that I'm accepted here very hard and it doesn't look like he would believe me when I tell him that I've already understood it."

Slowly, Will raised his eyebrows. "You have?"

"And in front of me sits the person who's helped me most to do it." It hadn't been easy for Nico to say those words, but now he couldn't take them back anymore. The expression on Will's face turned from surprised to shocked and afterwards to happy. The grin, which Nico liked so much appeared on his lips and he had to smile back at him. There was no way he could stop it. Will always made him smile and just... happy. Something no one else was able to do.

"Nico..." Will began and hesitated for a moment, which he used to stand up. Now wasn't the moment for deep conversations. At least it sounded as if Will was going to start one.

"We'll talk after the game, okay Sunshine?" Nico smiled at Will one last time before he turned around to walk towards the Big House, leaving the son of Apollo with a disappointed look on his face.

* * *

Nico quickly realized that Annabeth's strategy was working very well. They had decided that he should guard the flag together with Piper, who was hidden behind some bushes. They had searched for a place to hide for some time and now it wasn't possible to see her anymore. At least not if you were running towards Nico and the flag. Of course you could see her armor shining in the sun when you just looked around long enough, but during a game it wasn't very likely that someone did that.

There were many trees around him and it wasn't easy for him to see someone coming closer. But since Nico was a son of Hades, he could sense people around him. Of course it was easier when they were dying or already dead, but with living people it worked as well. It had taken him much time and practice to discover that he could do it. However, now he could tell when a person got closer to him. The only thing he couldn't do was finding out who the person was. For that, he still needed his eyes and ears, like everyone else.

Suddenly, there was a cracking sound behind him and Nico raised his sword.

"I'm sorry, I stepped on a branch." Piper hissed out of the bushes and he relaxed again. Nevertheless, he didn't let his sword sink. There was someone coming closer to them and it didn't take long until Nico could also hear footsteps behind some trees.

He took a few steps to the side, so that he was standing between the noises and the flag. Of course it could also be a trap, but then Piper would be there to help him.

The sound of footsteps became louder and after a few more seconds, he could see someone moving through the forest carefully. And then it hit Nico.

There wasn't just any other Demigod walking towards him. It was Will and a wide grin appeared on his lips when he saw Nico.

"Nice to see you again, Death Boy." He said and nodded, while he raised his sword as well. "However, I think I have to ask you to give me the flag. It would be much easier for you than to fight against me."

Right now, Nico regretted that he had helped Will to improve his fighting skills. Because the son of Apollo was really good at it and it wasn't always easy for him to stand against him.

Somehow, Nico managed to laugh. "You should really stop dreaming, Solace." He replied and it surprised himself how distant he sounded. Will seemed to notice that as well since he hesitated for half a second until he attacked him.

Their swords met and Nico could see in Will's eyes that he was sure that he'd win this fight. This made him determined to prove him wrong even more and he sidestepped quickly when the other boy tried to attack him again.

It seemed as if they just tried to hit each other for ages. It was clear that no one could win this fight without cheating and Nico prepared himself for something unexpected. They were moving away from the flag and into the forest. The only thing Will didn't know was that Piper was waiting in a bush only a few meters away from him and that she could help Nico very quickly.

"Are you getting tired, Death Boy?" Will asked and then Nico saw something he could use to get an advantage. He took a step to the right and hoped that the son of Apollo would do that as well. Because if he did...

"Not a chance. I've seen worse. And you?"

"Why should I-" Will couldn't finish his sentence. His feet got caught in tree roots and he lost his balance. However, somehow he was able to grab Nico's arm, so that they fell onto the ground together. Which meant that Will was lying on top of him now.

Nico's head had hit the ground, but luckily it didn't hurt very much. Either way, it took a few seconds until he was able to see everything clearly again. There was a worried look on Will's face and his cheeks were red. When he realized how close they were and in what position they found themselves in, Nico blushed as well.

Will just opened his mouth to say something, but he shook his head. He had to concentrate. Even if Will looked worried, it could also have been a trick (to be honest, Nico didn't believe that). "You lost." He murmured and suddenly, a large grin appeared on the other boy's face, even if his eyes still looked worried.

"No, you lost."

"I think you lost, Will." Another voice cut in and Nico looked up to see Piper standing next to them, a wide smile on her lips. "At least there are two swords pointing at you."

And it was true. Nico's sword was touching Will's chest, while Piper's pointed at his back. When the son of Apollo tried to stand up again, he realized that his sword had been close to his arm. Why didn't he notice that before? _Maybe because Will had been so close to you..._

When Will held out his hand to help him at standing up, Nico grabbed it quickly. They avoided looking into each other's eyes and suddenly, there was the sound of many people walking towards them.

"Didn't I tell you that we would win?" Percy asked Jason, who didn't look very pleased.

"Yes, you did. About two hundred times."

"So our strategy had been successful!" Annabeth grinned and hugged Piper quickly.

"And why are you covered in dirt?" Jason looked from Nico to Will and raised his eyebrows slowly. They both muttered something from falling to the ground while fighting against each other and before Jason knew what happened, they had disappeared in the crowd.


	3. A Counsel Meeting

**So here's the next chapter! I hope you like it and I'm sorry that it's so short, but right now my head hurts very much and I don't think that I can write much more today. And since I wanted to give you something to read, I just ended it at some point. I hope you won't be angry at me. I'll do my best to write another chapter as soon as possible (hopefully tomorrow). Now I have to thank you for the reviews, they're really great! I hope you can write more of them, I'd love that! It keeps me motivated and them I'm able to update more quickly (:**

 **I don't own the characters or places in this story!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

Will POV

"So how is it going at Camp Jupiter?" Percy asked and they all looked at the images of Reyna, Frank and Hazel questioningly. The counselors of the cabins of Camp Half-Blood were in the Big House and this was the first meeting in which members of the other camp were present as well. After the war against Gaea, they had decided that it would be good if the camps stayed in touch, and not only about two or three members. It had to be something official and after some time they had agreed on a big council meeting that should take place every month. Of course it wasn't possible that they met in person each time, so an Iris Message had to be enough.

And right now was the time of one of those meetings. They were sitting in their usual places, the only difference was that there was a little more space between Nico and Percy (which Will didn't mind). There, the members of Camp Jupiter were "sitting".

"Everything's fine. We have recovered from the war and right now we're beginning to train new legionnaires, so that we can defend the camp from all kinds of dangers. Or course some members have still doubts since they were loyal to Octavian, but there's nothing we could change about that. Maybe they will realize that our methods are good as well." Reyna told them and at her last sentence, Frank made a hissing noise.

"I don't think that they will change their minds any time soon. They still talk about Octavian like he belonged to the Gods or something like that. They still admire him, even if he was insane."

"That's true." Nico whispered so that only Will could hear him and he had to smile. For half a second, Nico's lips twitched as well, but then the son of Hades concentrated on the others again. Will knew that it had been very long since he last saw Hazel, his sister, and he understood that Nico missed her very much. He didn't have any other family members left and even if the other Demigods at Camp Half-Blood were his family now, it wasn't the same. Will would have loved to take his hand now to show him that he wasn't alone... _Wait, what?_ He didn't really just think that, did he? Yes, he did and somehow, Will meant it.

When he was around Nico, he felt the strong urge to protect him. And he wanted him to be happy, no matter what it would cost. During the war against Gaea, Nico's actions had shocked Will very much and when he'd said that he wanted to leave both camps for good, his heart had nearly stopped beating. But in all that time which had passed since then, Will had never asked himself _why_ he cared for Nico so much. Before the war, he had only seen the son of Hades a few times and they had never really talked to each other before...

"They hadn't really admired him. They just liked the thought of what he could give them." Jason murmured and Will was ripped out of his thoughts.

"Many people would do everything to get power." Nico agreed and Reyna frowned at them.

"I know, and that's the problem." She sighed. "We don't know if they plan something against us."

"But even if they do, we'll be prepared for it." Hazel added quickly and when Will looked to the side quickly, he saw the tension in Nico's body. "And besides, there aren't many people left who still believe in Octavian. Most Romans have changed sides and follow Reyna and Frank now without thinking about it. They trust you with everything they have."

Even if it was difficult to see through the Iris message, Will thought that Frank blushed and even Reyna looked a bit uncomfortable. Frank nudged Hazel's shoulder softly, as if he wanted to say that she'd just stated something unnecessary. However, Nico's sister only smiled widely at him and kissed his cheek. "I know what I'm talking about." She whispered, even though everyone else could hear her as well.

"I think we should change the topic." Frank said quickly and looked at the members of Camp Half-Blood again. "We're able to deal with Octavian's followers. So now tell us what's going on at your camp. Have you already started to build shrines for the minor gods?"

Now the attention of everyone in the room turned to Jason, who nodded with a smile. "Yes, but it's not always easy to do it. It has to fit the god or goddess we're building it for and since we don't know very much about some of them, it takes some time to do it."

"But we've already built five of them." Piper added quickly and Will could hear that she was proud of her boyfriend.

"And one of them is for Kymopoleia." Percy said darkly, which made some of the counselors - including Nico and Will - laugh. They all knew about the meeting of Percy and Jason with his half-sister and it was no secret that they didn't like her very much.

"Next to that there isn't much going on here." Connor Stoll, one of the heads of the Hermes Cabin, said. However, Annabeth shook her head quickly.

"You can't say it like that. I think there are some things which could be told. For example that we're building new cabins for the children of other gods who accept them now. And those new campers cause big changes here. For example the training program. Now that we have to teach so many people how to fight, we had to find a new method to do it. Which is why we're teaching many different ways to defend oneself and to attack someone else now. And in the beginning it hadn't been easy to coordinate it. However, now we've found a pretty good way to do it and the new ones are learning very quickly." The daughter of Athena sounded proud and when Will looked at Percy, it wasn't difficult to see how much he loved her. But after he'd jumped into Tartarus to be with her, that wasn't a surprise anyway...

"That sounds great." Reyna replied and a smile appeared on her lips. "Maybe we could try to exchange our methods somehow." Her suggestion was followed by soft whispering among the members of Camp Half-Blood and when Will turned around to look at Nico, he saw that he was smiling.

"You'll see each other again very soon, I'm sure of that." Will whispered and for a few seconds, Nico didn't seem to understand what he wanted to say. But when Will looked to Hazel, Reyna and Frank, he nodded and his smile grew a little wider.

"I hope you're right." Nico replied and it seemed as if he wanted to say something else as well, but he was cut off by another loud voice.

"That is a very good idea, Reyna." It was the first time Chiron spoke since the meeting had begun and at the sound of his voice, everyone else fell silent. "It would be good for both camps if we learned something new. The time of peace won't last forever, as we had to see for many times by now."

"And when we'll train together and visit each other more often, it won't happen again that the camps will forget each other." Nico added and Will saw many surprised faces looking at him. A few months ago, the son of Hades wouldn't have said very much on a counsel meeting. This also showed how much he'd changed after the war against Gaea...

"And a few members of our camp have already asked us if it would be possible that they could learn your healing methods. And to be completely honest, I think it would be a really good idea to teach them at it. There are many things they don't know." Reyna didn't say the last sentence very loud, but Will heard her either way and he couldn't stop himself from smiling. The idea of having students sounded strange to him. However, it could be nice to tell others what you knew...

"If that's all you ask for then it won't be a problem. I'm sure there are many things we can show you. And besides, the other members of my cabin need something do to. Some of them are getting pretty strange ideas." When Will said those words, he saw Nico grinning at him.

"You mean yourself, don't you?" The son of Hades whispered and Will felt the blood running to his cheeks. But why did this question embarrass him? _Well, maybe because you are also thinking some strange things..._ A voice in the back of his head muttered, but he decided to ignore it. Right now wasn't the time to be distracted.

"Oh shut up, Death Boy." He whispered, which made Nico's grin become even wider.


	4. Being Honest

**Hey there! Here's the next chapter and I hope you like it! It's not very long, but it seemed right to end it here. It would be great if you write reviews since it makes it easier for me to write this story! Then I'm able to update more often and you've got something to read again ((-: So please tell me what you think!**

 **I don't own the characters in this story!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

Will POV

"You're missing her very much, right?" Will asked and Nico looked up with a surprised expression on his face. After the meeting, the two of them had walked to the lake and now they were sitting on the beach. In the sunlight, Nico looked even paler than usual and that made his hair seem even darker. Somehow, Will couldn't stop himself from thinking that he looked beautiful.

"What do you mean?" Nico asked and raised his eyebrows slowly.

"Hazel. During the meeting, it seemed like you were missing her." He explained and for a few seconds, he thought that the son of Hades was going to deny it. But to his own surprise, Nico just sighed.

"That's true. She's the only family I've got and to know that she's so far away... It's not always easy."

"But you'll see each other again soon. When the camps start exchanging training methods she'll come to Camp Half-Blood for some time." Will tried to sound optimistically, however look on Nico's face made his heart sink a little bit.

"Nevertheless, it won't be the same. I'll always know that she'll leave again."

"And you're worried that something happens to her while you aren't there to help." It wasn't a question and when Nico looked away quickly, Will knew that he was right. "In Camp Jupiter, Hazel's safe. It's protected very well and I think that she can defend herself pretty good. After all she's your sister." At that, the other boy looked at him again and his lips twitched, even if the depressed expression didn't leave his face completely.

"I know that she doesn't need protection. And Frank's with her, so I know that someone's there if anything happens. But after what happened to Bianca..."

It took Will all of his strength not to inhale sharply. Normally, Nico didn't talk about his other sister. With no one. Not even his closest friends here in camp.

"Even if I should know it better, I still think that it's my fault that she died... I should have been there to help her." Nico looked at the water and Will could see that he was lost in his memories. Suddenly, the expression on his face turned cold again and he stood up. "But I wasn't. And now she'll never come back."

When the son of Hades began to walk towards the camp again, Will had to hurry up to stop him. "You're right, it wasn't your fault that she died. You couldn't have done anything to change it. Who says that you wouldn't have died as well when you would have been there?"

Slowly, Nico turned around again and to Will's relieve, the cold look on his face had disappeared. However, he couldn't say if what he saw right now didn't worry him even more. The expression on Nico's face showed pure desperation and this was the first time Will saw him helpless.

He took a step forward and hoped that the other boy wouldn't back away. Luckily, Nico didn't move. He only looked at Will wide-eyed and he tried to smile at him reassuringly. "You don't have to blame yourself for what happened. It isn't your fault. And I know that nothing will happen to Hazel. She's very strong and I'm sure that she can deal with every kind of danger. And besides, you have to see it from another perspective as well. When something would have happened to you back then, I wouldn't have gotten a chance to get to know you better. And that would have been really terrible because I like you very much, Death Boy."

He didn't know why it happened, but suddenly Will was hugging Nico tightly. First, the son of Hades stiffened and it seemed as if he wanted to shrink back. But after a few seconds, he relaxed in Will's arms, which made his heart beat even faster. When they let go of each other after some time, none of them knew what to say.

All of a sudden, Nico seemed to realize that he was still standing very close to Will and he took a step back quickly. The son of Apollo saw that his cheeks were red and he couldn't stop himself from smiling. Like this, Nico looked very cute.

"Thank you." For a few seconds, Will thought that he had just imagined Nico saying those words. He just wanted to reply something, when the son of Hades turned around and vanished in the forest.

* * *

Later that day, Will entered the dining pavilion just to see that the Hades table was empty. First, he only thought that Nico was late, but when he saw Percy and Jason sitting at the table of the Poseidon cabin, a bad feeling appeared in his stomach.

What happened to Nico? Wasn't he feeling good? Or did something happen to him? Or even worse, had Will done something to make him angry or upset?

Without thinking about it, he started to walk towards the table were Percy and Jason were sitting. However, he didn't sit down next to them. "Hey, do you know where Nico is?"

Percy shook his head immediately, but Jason frowned and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face. "I've been asking me that question as well. And no, I don't know it. I have seen him a few hours ago, he was walking through the forests with a look on his face I couldn't interpret. But I can't say what he's doing right now and why he's not here."

"It's been some time that Nico didn't appear to the meals anymore..." Percy murmured and watched the Hades table, which was still empty.

Those words were followed by silence, which made Will even more uncomfortable. "I think I'll go and search him." He muttered and turned around to walk away quickly. On his way to the forest, he met Piper and when she looked from him to the table where Nico normally sat, her face lit up a little bit.

"Good luck." She whispered into his ear before she wrapped her arms around Jason's shoulders, who started to laugh loudly. With a small smile on his face, Will began to leave the dining pavilion.

* * *

He found Nico sitting on a tree trunk close to the beach. The son of Hades was watching the sky and Will couldn't say what he was thinking since his expression was reserved.

"Nico?" He asked quietly and to his surprise, he didn't flinch.

"Shouldn't you be at the dining pavilion with the others?" Nico didn't look at him, not even when Will sat down next to him and so he looked into the sky as well.

"I think I should be the one asking that question. I was there, but when I saw that you didn't come I went searching for you."

"And why did you do that?"

Right now, Will couldn't stop himself from looking at Nico any longer. "I was worried about you!" Apparently, there had been something in the tone of his voice since Nico turned his head slowly to look into his eyes. There, Will could see pure disbelief. "Oh come on, Death Boy! You should start accepting that there are many people who care about you."

"You don't have to."

"And if we want to?"

"Can't you change it?"

"Why would we want that?" Will realized that he had nearly shouted the last sentence too late. Luckily, no one was there who could hear them.

"Because I'm not used to it. I don't know how to deal with many people being nice to me and treating me like I am a real person whose opinion is worth something. It's just... strange." Nico was speaking quickly now, as if he had held back those things for too long. Will wanted to put a hand on his shoulder, but he stopped himself from that in the last second. He didn't know how the other boy would react to it, now that he was already that troubled.

"I think you're dealing with all those things very well."

"You just think that because it's easier for me to be myself when I'm with you." After having said that sentence, Nico looked at Will in an alarmed way. It seemed as if he couldn't believe that he had just said those words and Will was also looking at the son of Hades wide-eyed.

"Nico..." He began slowly, but the other boy just cut him off.

"You see? You make me say what I'm thinking and that's..." He shook his head and closed his eyes for a few moments. "I should go."

"You don't have to." Will replied quickly and put a hand on his shoulder, but that only made Nico feel even more uncomfortable. He stood up quickly and began to walk into the forest. However, he stopped after a few meters and looked back again. Their eyes met and Will couldn't tell if Nico just seemed sad or if there was something else as well. But then the moment was over and the son of Hades vanished in the shadows.


	5. A Prophecy?

**Hey there, here's the next chapter! I hope you like it and please write reviews, it would be great to hear your opinion to my story! And thank you for favoriting/following the fanfic ((-: It makes me happy to know that someone likes it^^**

 **I don't own the characters!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

Nico POV

Why did everything have to be so complicated?

Nico was walking through the forest at night. His conversation with Will a few hours ago had been horrible and right now, he had to find a way to deal with his anger, confusion and fear. He shouldn't have said those things to the son of Apollo! It was stupid of him. Normally, he didn't tell others about his feelings or thoughts, when they were too personal. But with Will... it was different.

And Nico wasn't sure if it was good or bad.

When he was with him, he felt happy and he could relax. Will made Nico laugh and it surprised him very much, that he could make him laugh as well. It didn't happen very often that someone thought that Nico was sympathetic or something like that. When Will was around, he didn't have to hide anymore. He could just be himself and there was someone who accepted him. Of course the others at Camp Half-Blood - Jason, Percy, Annabeth and Piper - liked him as well. However, with them it was different. They were his friends, there was no doubt of it. Nonetheless, they didn't understand him completely. For them, Nico was still a riddle - a riddle which was beginning to solve itself, but he was different and it didn't look like it was going to change any time soon.

But why on earth did he say those things to Will?

It was better to remain silent and say nothing than to expose all your feelings, wasn't it? And the point was that Nico didn't even know how exactly he felt about the son of Apollo. Yes, there were those butterflies in his stomach every time he smiled or said something nice. And when they touched accidentally, it felt like a flash had hit Nico. But did that really mean that he had a crush on Will?

With Percy, it had been different. He had admired him and for a long time, the son of Poseidon had been his hero. And that's why Nico had thought that he liked him very much. It had turned out that he'd been wrong, which was good. Percy had Annabeth and they loved each other very much, no one could miss that.

Suddenly, Nico heard a noise behind him in the woods. He turned around quickly (and a little part of him hoped that Will was following him), just to see a squirrel jumping from tree to tree. He couldn't stop himself from being disappointed. However, the feeling didn't last long. Something else attracted Nico's attention and he never thought that this could happen within the borders of Camp Half-Blood. There was this cold feeling in his body, which announced the appearance of a ghost. But how could a ghost enter the camp? And what did he or her want here?

Slowly, he began to walk through the forest and towards the dim light that had appeared behind some trees. The cold feeling in his body became stronger and Nico knew that it wasn't a very strong ghost. Otherwise he would have sensed the appearance immediately.

It was a woman. She was wearing a white dress and in the darkness it looked like she was covered in fog. However, the light was coming from inside of her and that showed Nico that she couldn't last in the world of the living very long. Her time was limited.

When she saw him, her face lit up and she stopped playing with her long her which had been brown when she'd been alive. "You are here." Was all she said and for some time, there was silence around them. Nico realized that she didn't have the intention so say anything else, so he took a few steps towards her and raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"Who are you? And what are you doing here?" He tried to sound friendly, which wasn't easy since he was still mad at himself for saying those things to Will. But right now, he had to put his anger aside. Maybe she wanted to tell him something important. At least he thought that because she wouldn't have come to Camp Half-Blood when nothing had happened.

"My name's Maria." She began and hesitated for a few seconds. She turned around and looked into the forest to make sure that nobody else was there. When she was satisfied, she focused on him again and there was concern in her eyes. "And I came here to warn you, my Lord."

It wasn't unusual that ghosts called him like that, but this time it took Nico by surprise. He frowned and apparently, Maria thought that she'd done something wrong since an alarmed expression appeared on her face. "Why do you want to warn me?" Nico asked quickly and hoped that she wasn't going to vanish.

"Because lots of trouble is going to come. There will be darkness, and there will be war. And there is no way you can escape from it. It is going to come everywhere."

"What do you mean by that?"

Maria shook her head quickly and took a few steps back. "I don't have the time to say anything else, and even if I wanted to, I couldn't do it. I've already said too much, my Lord. And I will be punished for coming here, since the dead are not allowed to enter the camps. I'm sorry, but I have to go. I wish you good luck, my Lord." With those words, she turned around and ran into the forest.

Nico tried to follow her as quickly as possible, but when he reached the tree behind which she'd disappeared, there was nothing. Only the darkness surrounding him. He stood there for a few more moments, but his confusion wouldn't vanish. What did she mean by darkness and war? The war against Gaea was over and they had hoped that there would be peace, but apparently their wish wouldn't come true.

* * *

When he came out of the forest, the sun was already rising. He could hear many people talking at the dining pavilion, but Nico didn't have the desire to go to them. Maria's words were still bothering him and he wanted to think about them for some time. Why did she wanted to warn him? And even more important, what was going to come? Could it really mean that-

"Good morning, Nico!" A loud voice called and when he looked up he saw Piper walking towards him. She was smiling widely, but when she looked at him more closely a worried expression appeared on her face. "You look terrible! Didn't you sleep last night?"

Apparently, Piper would know when he was lying to her. So he only nodded.

"What happened? Was it something between you and Will?" That surprised Nico. Very much, to be exact. However, Piper was the daughter of the goddess of love, so...

"Not exactly. I mean, kind of. But not very much. Something else happened as well." Nico said quickly and hoped that she wouldn't ask about Will any longer. Somehow, he knew that it wasn't going to happen.

Piper frowned and sat down on the grass. Nico did the same and when he saw the questioning look on her face, he sighed. "I've met a ghost last night."

"But didn't that happen to you very often?"

"I've met her in camp."

"Oh." When she realized the meaning of his words, her eyes grew wide. "I thought they couldn't get over the borders!"

Nico nodded slowly. "That's what I thought as well. Normally, that's not possible."

"And what did the ghost want?" Now Piper was really worried and she began to play with a ring on her finger uneasily.

"Her name was Maria and she wanted to warn me. She said something about darkness and a war which is going to come, but when I asked her what exactly she meant, she disappeared."

For a few moments, Piper was silent and looked at Nico with a thoughtful expression on her face. "You should talk to Chiron." She said finally and he nodded.

"That's what I was going to do."

"However, you should talk to Will first."

"Why is that?" Nico raised his eyebrows and Piper shook her head.

"Boys." She muttered and he wasn't sure if there was amusement or annoyance in her eyes. Maybe something of both. "You only see that someone likes you when you're told so, right?"

Now Nico was staring at her with his mouth open. Nevertheless, she carried on speaking. "Come on Nico, are you blind? I know you like Will very much, I've seen the way you look at him and when he's around, you behave completely different. And it's obvious that he likes you too! Why else would he be so worried about you every time something happens? And don't tell me that I'm wrong, I know what I'm talking about! In the topic of love, I'm an expert!"

"Does anyone else knows that I like Will?" He knew that it was stupid, but there was no other question which came to his mind right now. Luckily, Piper shook her head.

"I don't think so. However, that doesn't change the fact that you have to talk to him!"

"And what if-" He didn't get a chance to finish that sentence. Suddenly, they heard a loud voice calling his name and when he turned around, he saw Will Solace walking towards them, a mixture of anger and worry on his face.


	6. What Are We?

**Okay, I couldn't stop myself from writing two chapters this evening. And yes, I know that this one is far too short. I hope the next one will be longer again. However, I just had to upload this one as well! Reviews? Ideas? Or just comments? Pleeeeease? (:**

 **I don't own the characters!**

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

Nico POV

When she saw Will coming closer to them, Piper stood up quickly. "Good luck and be honest with him. And don't forget to tell Chiron about the ghost!" She winked at him, turned around and walked towards the dining pavilion. On her way, she greeted Will, who seemed a little surprised to see her here.

"What are you going here?" Will's tone was determinant and Nico knew that there was no way to get out of this situation any time soon. "And why are you- You look terrible, Nico!" When he looked at Nico more closely, his anger seemed to decrease a little bit. Slowly, the son of Apollo sat down next to him and Nico thought that he could see concern in his eyes. However, he could have also been wrong.

"What happened? You look like you didn't sleep last night."

Nico tried to smile at Will, but he knew that it didn't look very convincing. So he only sighed and nodded. "I didn't."

"And why-"

"I've met a ghost. Here at camp." Just like Piper, Will needed a few seconds to realize the sense behind those words. Then his eyes grew wide and he paled.

"How is that possible?"

"It shouldn't be." He replied immediately and the son of Apollo frowned. "Normally, they can't get over the borders. I don't know how she did it."

"She?"

"Her name was Maria." Nico nodded. "And she wanted to warn me. She said that darkness and war were going to come and that we couldn't escape from it, even if we wanted to."

Now an alarmed expression appeared on Will's face and he ran a hand through his hair - something he did very often when he was nervous. "Have you told anyone about it?"

"I didn't get a chance to do so. When I came out of the forest, Piper talked to me and now you're here."

Slowly, the son of Apollo nodded. Nico could see that he was trying to figure out what Maria had wanted to say, but then he sighed. "You have to talk to Chiron. This is serious."

"I wanted to do it now. Even if I doubt that he knows what the ghost wanted to say."

"But I'm sure he'll know what he can do now." Will murmured and the way he watched Nico now made him look away. "And after that, you have to get some sleep. You look terrible, Death Boy. However, I think you should eat something first. After you haven't done that yesterday evening..." Those words stayed in the air between them and a cold feeling appeared in his stomach. He didn't want to talk about last night. He hadn't thought about the things he'd said and it had been stupid to tell Will all those things.

"Yeah, I think I'll do that." He muttered and wanted to stand up, but Will grabbed his hand and stopped him from doing so. For a few moments, both boys watched their entwined hands and then they let go of each other as if their skin had been burned. Nico felt the blood running to his cheeks and from the corner of his eye he could see that the son of Apollo was a little red in his face as well.

"What was this about?" Nico asked quietly into the silence and he heard Will taking a deep breath.

"Actually, I was angry at you."

When he only frowned at him, Will sighed. "This morning, I knocked on your door about two hundred times. Normally, you open after a few minutes, but today no one was there. I thought that something had happened... Or maybe that you were angry and didn't want to see me. Then I saw you sitting here with Piper and I didn't know what to think anymore."

To be honest, he didn't know what to say right now. It would have been okay when Will was angry. Presumably, Nico would have felt the same way. But hearing that he was worried and even confused... that made the strange feeling in his stomach return. "I wasn't angry at you." He answered simply and this seemed to surprise the son of Apollo very much since he opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but no sound escaped.

"In fact I was angry at me."

"I think you have to explain that." Will murmured and narrowed his eyes, which made Nico sigh.

"I've already told you that I'm telling you to much."

"But that isn't a bad thing."

"For you." Nico replied immediately and swallowed. "I'm not used to tell others about my feelings. And that's the problem with you. You make me want to do it."

He didn't have to see the look on Will's face to know that he couldn't believe what he'd just heard. "Death Boy..."

Nico shook his head slowly. "Don't get me wrong. I like you very much. More than everyone else I've met in my life, to be honest."

Will tried to laugh, but it sounded breathless and suddenly, Nico realized that the son of Apollo was leaning towards him. And why didn't it surprise him that he was doing the same? "You're great, you know that? And no, I don't just mean as a friend. I think now it's time for me to be honest. I won't be angry if you hate me after it and never want to see me again, but please let me finish first. I've never quite understood you, Nico. Before the war, you barely appeared here in camp and you pushed everyone away. There were people who wanted to be your friends. However, it didn't seem like you wanted any of them around you. You were always alone and there was this dark expression on your face, like you couldn't laugh or be happy. And somehow, during the war against Gaea everything changed. I can't explain it, but suddenly I felt the urge to protect you. Seeing you fading scared me very much and I didn't understood it. And when you stayed in the infirmary for a few days, I realized that you were a completely different person than I thought you were. And you became my closest friend, which shouldn't be a surprise to you. However, there was something else as well. I've never wanted to protect one of my friends as much as I want to do it with you. Sometimes, I even think that I _need_ you to be safe. And I want you to be happy. You have a great smile, you know that? I think I've never told you... you should do it more often. And laughing as well. Oh gods, this is really awkward, isn't it?" He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "What I wanted to say before I started to tell you stupid things is that you're special to me, Nico. In more than one way. And you don't have to be afraid to tell me about your feelings. I'll be there for you, no matter what happens. And now you can decide what you want to do. Stand up and run away; hate me if you want to do it. Or stay here and laugh about me, it's your choice."

This was it. The butterflies in his stomach were going crazy and Nico felt like he was going to explode. He shouldn't do this, right? What if Will didn't mean that...

"And when I decide to do none of those things?" Nico asked and leaned in even more, so that their lips touched.


	7. Decisions

**Hey there! So here's the next chapter! I hope you like it and thank you for the reviews! They're great and I hope you can write more of them, it's always motivating and then I want to continue this story as soon as possible :D**

 **I don't own the characters and places in this story!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

Nico POV

When their lips touched, he was prepared for everything.

Will could have cried out in shock, he could have yelled at him or he could simply run away. Nico expected him to be angry or maybe he would laugh because he thought that he was so stupid. In his head, he saw all those possibilities and about two thousand others. He really wouldn't be surprised when one of them became true; everything else wouldn't be logical. At least Will was far too good for him, a son of Hades.

In fact, everything could have happened and it wouldn't have shocked Nico as much as Will's reaction did. Because the son of Apollo actually kissed him back.

As soon as they started kissing, Will wrapped his arms around Nico's shoulders to pull him closer. Even if Nico wouldn't have been so surprised, he wouldn't have had any difficulties at it since he was stronger than him. For a few seconds, Nico was frozen in shock. It was too good to be true. But then he relaxed and touched Will's arm carefully, just to make sure that he wasn't dreaming.

The kiss didn't last long and after it, both boys looked at each other with wide eyes. Will's cheeks were red and Nico knew that he was blushing as well. However, the eyes of the son of Apollo were shining and he thought that he'd never seen him more happy than in this moment. It was obvious that they didn't know what to say and Nico looked at his hands.

Suddenly, Will touched his cheek softly and forced him to look into his eyes again. "Can I be honest?" He didn't wait for an answer. "I didn't expect you to do _that_ , Death Boy." And then Will smiled slightly and Nico thought that he'd never seen anything more perfect in his life. "Of course that doesn't mean that I didn't like it!" The last sentence was spoken very quickly and now Nico couldn't stop himself from grinning any longer.

"Calm down, Sunshine." He laughed and after a few seconds, Will relaxed again. "I'm not going to run away from you anymore."

"Took you enough time to realize that you like me." Will tried to sound offended, but his wide smile made that impossible.

"You should know that I'm not good at understanding people or feelings. Son of Hades, remember?" He raised one of his eyebrows without letting the grin leave his lips.

"Yes, and even if it's pretty stupid I've fallen for you. Next time, I should think about it more closely before I start a relationship with someone. Ouch!" At those words, Nico had hit Will's arm and now the son of Apollo was raising his hands. It looked like he wanted to defend himself, but before Nico knew what happened he was in Will's arms again and it didn't seem as if the other one wanted to let go. "Sorry, that wasn't funny." He looked at Nico for a few moments and just when he wanted to reply something, a smile appeared on the other boy's lips. "I don't think that there'll be a next time." He murmured and now Nico had to grin.

"Then you should let go of my shoulders quickly, Sunshine. Otherwise I can't guarantee that nothing will happen to you." This time, they both had to laugh and Will stood up so that he was able to help Nico at doing so.

"I've told you a million times that you're not ready for the really dark stuff yet, Nico." Even though he was still smiling, there was concern in Will's eyes and suddenly, Nico remembered his meeting with the ghost again.

It hit him like a bottle of cold water and he couldn't stop his grin from vanishing immediately. Apparently, Will thought that he'd done something wrong because he wanted to let go of Nico's hand which he was still holding. He tightened his grip around it quickly. "Have I-" Will started but he shook his head quickly.

"No, you have just reminded me of something." When the son of Apollo frowned, Nico looked back to the forest for half a second. This seemed to explain everything since Will's expression changed from confused to delighted and then to worried.

"We have to talk to Chiron."

Nico nodded. "Sadly, that's true. It seems as if something bad is going to happen soon."

"Didn't we have enough trouble during the last years?" Will murmured darkly and Nico's lips twitched.

"The past months weren't that bad..." He began and slowly, the two of them began to walk towards the Big House. "And even if last night wasn't very nice, today has started very good..."

* * *

"What is so important that you can't even let us finish our breakfast?" Percy asked and looked at Chiron questioningly.

After Nico had told him everything about his meeting with the ghost, Chiron had asked Will and him to search the other head counselors. Of course they hadn't been thrilled when the two of them interrupted their breakfast, but there was nothing they could do against it. Maria's words had worried Chiron very much and since it was obvious that something bad was going to happen, the others had to know about it.

While searching the others, Will and Nico hadn't held hands openly. They both knew that this wasn't the right moment to show their relationship. Nevertheless, Piper was smiling at them from across the table knowingly and Will squeezed Nico's hand so that nobody could see it. A small smile appeared on his lips and when he turned his head to look at Will - his _boyfriend_ \- he saw that he was grinning as well.

"Last night something happened you all should know about." Slowly, Chiron turned around to look at Nico. "However, this story should be told by the one who experienced it."

He nodded and looked at the other head counselors in the room. "Last night I was in the forest because I couldn't sleep. First, everything seemed to be normal but after some time, I saw a light behind some trees and when I got closer to it, it turned out to be a ghost. Her name was Maria and to be honest I don't know how she got behind the borders of Camp Half-Blood. Normally, ghosts can't enter the camp. I asked her why she was there and to my surprise, her answer came immediately. She said she wanted to warn me and that we'll have to prepare ourselves for darkness and war. There wouldn't be a way to escape from it, but when I wanted to know more about it, she didn't want to tell me anything else. All she said was that she was going to be punished for coming here and that she's wishing us good luck."

In the silence which followed his words, everyone was staring at him in shock. He knew that the other's couldn't believe it and if he wouldn't have met the ghost himself, Nico would have had doubts as well.

"But how could the ghost enter Camp Half-Blood? It's impossible!" Clarisse was the first one who spoke and a few other head counselors nodded in agreement.

"Do you think that it was a real ghost? Maybe someone just wanted to scare you..." Nico looked at the current head counselor of the Hephaestus Cabin coldly.

"I think I can distinguish a real ghost from some kind of joke." He replied and the other Demigod looked at the table quickly.

"There's no way Nico can be wrong." To his surprise, Will defended him. He had done it before, but after what had happened in the morning between the two of them, Nico saw it from a completely different perspective. "At least his father's the god of the Underworld." The Underworld. He didn't say the dead... "And even if you try very hard, it's not possible to trick Nico at those things. He knows what he's talking about."

From the corner of his eye, he saw the son of Apollo winking at him and Nico felt his lips twitch. Under the table, he squeezed Will's hand quickly and even if the feeling of them holding hands was still strange, he began to like it.

"So now the question is what we're going to do about it." Jason said slowly and now the attention of everyone in the room turned to him. "Do you think that another ghost could tell us more about the war, Nico?"

He shook his head immediately. "They couldn't help us. I don't know where Maria came from, but somehow I couldn't classify her in any part of the Underworld."

"Which means that someone has sent her." Annabeth concluded and Nico saw in her eyes that she was thinking about it closely.

"The fact that she was able to get over the borders confirms that speculation." Chiron added and nodded slowly. He also seemed to be lost in thoughts.

"And what are we going to do now when we can't find out more about it?" The head counselor of one of the minor cabins asked and this time, Percy answered the question.

"It doesn't mean that we can't find out more about it. Nico can't talk to ghosts about it because someone else - maybe a god - had sent Maria. But we can still ask others if they know something about a war which is going to come, or about tensions in general."

"And maybe the others in Camp Jupiter have heard anything as well." Jason added quickly and a few people in the room nodded.

"From now on, we have to be very careful again. It would be good if start to train harder, just in case that there will be an attack." Annabeth and Percy exchanged looks and Nico knew that they would think about new methods soon.

Chiron nodded. "However, I don't think that the time has already come to tell the others about it. After everything that happened in the previous months, it would be good to remain in the status of peace for some time."

This time, Will nodded. "Otherwise there would be many Demigods who break down just because they're thinking about the war too much. It's not nice to help about twenty others a day when they are stressing themselves too much."

Slowly, the head counselors nodded in agreement and Chiron smiled at them. "Then I think I can say that this meeting is over. When something new happens, I will call you as soon as possible. And now you should go back to the dining pavilion again, the time for breakfast is nearly over."

The others started to stand up and leave the room. Nico and Will just wanted to follow them, when Chiron called his name. "I want you to tell Reyna, Hazel and Frank at Camp Jupiter about what you have seen, Nico. When it is true what the ghost had said, this will affect both camps."

Nico nodded and when he thought about Hazel and a war which was going to come, his head began to hurt. "Of course I'll do it."

He left the Big House together with Will and without hesitation, the son of Apollo took his hand. "We'll do it, but not now. You have to eat something, Death Boy. You look like you're going to break down every second and that's nothing I would like to see."

Nico knew that it wouldn't be possible to start a debate with Will when he was like this, so he just gave in with a sigh. "When it makes you happy, Sunshine."

The beaming smile on Will's lips made the butterflies in Nico's stomach return and right now, he didn't think that it was bad to walk through Camp Half-Blood when he was holding Will Solace's hand.


	8. News

**Hey guys, here's another chapter of this story! Finally I was able to write a few lines again and I hope you like it. In the past months it hadn't been easy for me because I just moved into another city where I'm living alone now and I've started to study. So there were lots of changes and I didn't have the time to upate my stories. I hope it will change again, so that I can upload new chapters more often. And I'm grateful for everyone who carries on reading, even if I've been gone for so long. So what do you think about the chapter? I know that it's short and it doesn't happen very much... The next one will be different, I promise ;)**

 **I don't own the characters!**

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

Will POV

"So you're saying that it is most likely that another war will come?" Frank asked - Will thought it was the fifth time he did so - and frowned.

"I think I explained it well enough." Nico muttered and he couldn't hold back a smile. Even though the son of Hades would never believe it, Will thought that he was sweet. Of course he couldn't say something like that aloud...

"What are we going to do now?" Reyna's voice was calm and her face was concentrated. Even through the Iris Message, Will could see that she was trying to figure out a plan to get out of this situation. "It's not like we know who's wanting to kill us."

"But maybe there's a way to find out why the ghost appeared here in Camp Half-Blood." Nico said slowly and now everyone turned his or her attention to him again. "I can't find her, that's clear and it's not like any other ghost would tell me something about her or anything strange that has happened in the past months. However, there are other ways to find out why-"

"No." Hazel's voice was as sharp as ice and she shook her head. "You can't do that, Nico. Not after what happened to you during the war against Gaea. And even if you would have all of your powers, it still would be far too dangerous."

Now Will raised his eyebrows and looked from Hazel to Nico. "What's she talking about?" He demanded and he couldn't stop his tone from becoming suspicious.

When Nico didn't make any effort to answer his question, Will turned his attention to Hazel again. "What did I miss?"

With a sigh, Hazel gave in and shook her head slowly. "There is a way to find out where the ghost came from." She began and ignored the reproachful expression on Nico's face. "But it's nothing anyone except Nico could do since he's a child of Hades."

"But you're..." Frank began, however as soon as he started, his girlfriend raised her hand to make him fall silent again.

"I'm a daughter of Pluto, not of Hades. In some parts of the Underworld it makes a huge difference if you're Roman or Greek." Without thinking of it twice, she took his hand and turned around to look at Nico and Will again, who were still watching them closely. Nico with an impatient look on his face, while Will himself was just curious to see what Hazel was going to say. Nevertheless, he couldn't stop that uneasy feeling in his stomach that told him that Nico - his _boyfriend_ \- was having a very stupid idea again.

"Well, as I said there's a way a child of Hades can communicate with much more powerful ghosts than the ones who appear on the earth. But to do that, you have to go into the Underworld and it's a long and dangerous journey. I've never heard of anyone who came back from the Fields of the Whispering Silence."

Nico just opened his mouth to reply something, but Will was faster. "Forget it." He said sternly and grabbed Nico's arm. "You're not going there. Didn't I say that you're not ready for the dark stuff again?"

"It's not that dange-" The son of Hades didn't get a chance to finish that sentence. In that moment, Reyna sighed loudly through the Iris Message and shook her head.

"Nico, Will's right. Forget it. We'll find another way to deal with this. I know that we don't have that much time, but we don't want you to get in danger just because we want to solve the problem quickly."

"You should start realizing that there are people who don't want you to get hurt." Hazel said softly and when Will nodded with a smile only he could see, Nico gave in with a sigh.

"I really shouldn't have come back to the camp." He muttered darkly, but Will could see in his eyes that he didn't mean it like that. It was still hard for Nico to show his thoughts and feelings and it would take much time and patience to change that. Luckily, Will had enough of both. The thought of making Nico happy was incredible and he still couldn't believe that he was able to call the other boy his _boyfriend_ now. It was too good to be true. "You're able to influence me." Nico shook his head and right now, his expression showed disbelief.

"Nico..." Reyna began and Will could see that she was shocked of his words. However, as soon as he saw their faces, Nico began to laugh loudly and he had to grin as well.

"What...?" First, Reyna didn't seem to understand what was going on, but as soon as she realized that the son of Hades just had been joking, a smile appeared on her lips and she shook her head. "What have you done to him?" She asked Will and crossed her arms. "He's..."

"Different?" Frank tried to finish her sentence and Reyna nodded.

"Indeed."

Instead of answering their question, Will just winked at them and took Nico's hand, who smiled widely at him. When they had walked through the camp together, the son of Hades had hesitated at first, but that feeling had vanished almost immediately. Of course the other demigods had been very surprised and many people had just stared at them wide-eyed, but Nico and Will hadn't paid attention to them.

"Oh my god, you're..." Hazel shrieked and Frank just looked at the two of them wide eyed.

"Yep, that's right." Nico nodded and for a few more seconds, the three demigods from Camp Jupiter stared at them in silence. And then it came all at once.

Later, Will couldn't tell anymore who congratulated them first and who threatened to kill him if he ever hurt Nico, but he didn't care. Everything important to him was Nico's smile and the fact that they were holding hands in front of the others. And of course that the others accepted their relationship.

"So we'll have to figure out another way to prevent this war." Nico said several minutes later, when the others were nearly silent again.

"Yes, we do." Will replied immediately and squeezed his hand. "No more dark stuff, doctors orders."

Nico's lips twitched, which made his heard beat faster. "When you say it, Sunshine..." He murmured so that only Will could hear him.

"Should I tell the others at Camp Jupiter about the things that have happened?" Reyna asked and Nico shook his head.

"Chiron said that it would be better to keep it secret first. We don't want the other's to get scared until we know what's going to come."

After a few seconds of silence, she nodded. "Sounds logical. So the three of us will have to search for a way to help you alone."

"I don't think that it'll be a problem." Hazel said slowly and smiled. "Hasn't it always been three demigods who went on a quest? I think you can compare this situation to it."

"And we'll try to find out more as well." Will added with a smile.

Suddenly, there was a sound as if someone was knocking at a door. It took them half a second to realize that it came through the Iris Message and when Reyna, Hazel and Frank turned around to see who it was, Nico and Will exchanged a smile.

"There's a meeting in about ten minutes, so we have to go." Frank appeared in front of them again and there was an apologetic expression on his face.

"No problem." Will replied and Nico nodded.

"You shouldn't forget your responsibilities because of us."

A grateful smile spread out on Frank's lips and he stood up. "We'll call you when we find out something useful."

"And we'll tell you when we've found out who wants to kill us." Nico murmured just in the moment the image in front of them vanished.


	9. Shouldn't We Be Safe Here?

**So another chapter. I'm sorry that I didn't write for a long time, but everything has been complicated. I'm studying now and for the tests I have to learn very much and next to that, I just didn't find the time to continue any of my stories. I hope you aren't too angry at me. During the next weeks, I'll try to write some more chapters to make it up to you again.**

* * *

 **Chapter** **9**

Nico POV

"As you all might know", Annabeth began while sitting down at the Hades table next to Nico, "we're going to have another match of Capture The Flag later. And since I'm the best at strategy and I was able to decide who'll be on my team, I've decided that I'm taking you, Nico, and the Apollo cabin."

Nico and Will exchanged a smile. A few days had passed since they had informed Camp Jupiter about Nico's meeting with the ghost and everything seemed to be suspiciously quiet. Of course there were a few monsters attacking the borders of Camp Half-Blood, but that wasn't something new to the demigods. The only difference was that Nicos dreams got even worse, which shouldn't have been possible under different circumstances. At least he'd been having nightmares about Tartarus for a long time by now…

"This time, the Percy will be working with Jason and the Aphrodite cabin, I think that'll be an advantage for us since they don't get along too well when it has to be decided who will be the leader in this game. And our strategy will look like this…" It took Annabeth some time to explain her plan to them and Nico and Will just sat there listening to all the different ideas which she'd simply put together. Apparently, the children of Ares and Hephaistos were on their team as well and this time, Nico shouldn't guard their flag but try to get the one of their opponents. The Apollo cabin should watch his back and help him if something happened and Will's eyes started to shine when he heard that he was going to be with Nico all the time.

At the mentioning of that, Nico had to smile too. Even though the past days had been very dark for the camp and everyone who knew of the ghost and her words was expecting something terrible to happen any time soon, the son of Hades had never been happier. Every time he looked at Will, he realized that there was something worth fighting for. Not just the safety of all demigods and all the other people in the world, but love. Something he would have never thought to experience it by himself. However, there seemed to be someone who wanted to spent his time with him and who seemed to actually like him and that was… amazing.

Under the table, Will squeezed Nicos hand and he smiled at the son of Apollo. "We're gonna win this, Death Boy." He whispered after Annabeth had finished her speech and Nico nodded with a grin on his lips.

"After all, we're together." He replied and didn't even stop grinning when Mr. D yelled at them for sitting on the wrong table for breakfast.

* * *

Everything in the forest seemed to be silent when Nico and Will made their way to where they thought the flag of the other team would be. Even the birds didn't chirp their usual melody which could be heard all over the grounds of Camp Half-Blood. The silence was strange and normally, every demigod would have noticed that something was wrong, but right now they were all too occupied with the game.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps to their right and Nico gave Will a sign to hide behind a tree. However, he didn't follow him. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and called a few shadows which hid him. He knew that he also earned a reproachful look from Will, but right now Nico didn't care. Using his powers like this didn't cost him much of his strength. It was not like he was shadow travelling or something like that, which was far more exhausting.

It turned out to be a group of children of Aphrodite, led by Piper. They were trying to be silent, but apparently not all of them were able to move through the trees without being heard. Nico couldn't see in which direction they were going, but after a few seconds, he nodded at Will, who wasn't looking too happy, and the two of them continued to sneak towards the flag of the other team.

Suddenly, there was the sound of a loud explosion somewhere behind them and Will and Nico stopped immediately. Listening to the sounds of the forest for the first time since the game had started, Nico realized many things at once. Most important, the lack of noises all around them. The only thing except their own breathing were the footsteps and cries of other demigods, but they were far away. Next to that, there was nothing. No birds or other animals, no rushing water even though it couldn't be far away anymore and not even the sound of leafs moving in the wind.

"Will." Nico whispered and his boyfriend nodded silently. He had noticed it as well and a concentrated look appeared on his face – a look that Nico had seen before during the battle against Gaea. Without thinking about it twice, he grabbed his sword and gave Will a sign to follow him. When the sound of a battle became louder, Nico and Will began to run and then they also heard something else. It was the cry of a monster which sent shivers down their back.

Nico had problems at getting his thoughts into the right order. How did they come into the camp? And why now? The question he didn't ask himself was if this had anything to do with the appearance of the ghost a few nights ago. The answer was easy to see.

There was another sound of an explosion and this time, they could see what had caused it. Jason was sending flashes at their enemies and at the same time, Percy was attacking them with waves of water and Riptide, which was shining in the sunlight.

Next to them, the children of Ares were fighting side by side with other members of the Apollo cabin. When one of them was hit by the tail of a big, snake-like monster, Will left Nico to help them immediately. Deep inside, a part of Nico was worried about him, but he pushed the thought aside quickly. This wasn't the right time to get sentimental. He had to help his friends as well.

And with that, he raised his sword and stabbed a monster which had just noticed him. It vanished with a loud crack, but Nico didn't let himself be irritated by this. He had fought against their kind many times and it wasn't something to scare him. He'd seem worse.

When he noticed that some children of Ares were trying to fight off a monster the size of an elephant, he came to their aid while hitting its leg with his sword. The monster cried out in pain and the children of Ares used this distraction to attack again. This time, their enemy wasn't as lucky as the first time anymore. The final move was made by Clarisse herself, who sent him back to Tartarus with a loud and angry cry.

"Nico, watch out!" Jason's voice behind him yelled and Nico turned around just in time to see another monster with long fangs jumping at him. He had only enough time to raise his sword, which wasn't enough. They fell to the ground together and Nico felt a sharp pain in his left arm, where the claws had hit him. Without thinking about it any further, he used his powers to cover his opponent in shadows which were burning him like fire. They didn't harm Nico himself, so he was able to grab his sword again and slid the monsters throat. It exploded and slowly, Nico was able to stand up again. For half a second, his eyes met the ones of Will, who had an alarmed look on his face. But right now there wasn't the time for accusations.

And so the battle continued, however it shouldn't last long anymore. After some time, Nico found himself fighting side by side with Percy and Jason and no one was able to resist against the children of the big three. Even though their powers were completely different, they fitted each other very well right now and the combination of water, flashes and darkness was deadly to every monster who dared to cross their way.

* * *

No one knew why the monsters had been able to get into the borders of Camp Half-Blood. Some demigods had been injured, but luckily every one of them would be okay soon. After they had returned out of the forest and informed the other campers about what had happened, hell had broken out. It took Chiron a long time to calm everyone down again and after that, he called out a council meeting immediately.

Nico and Will didn't have much time to talk about what happened and before the other boy could say anything, Nico had apologized for using his powers. To the surprise of the others – and mostly to his own – Will had hugged Nico tightly and kissed him in front of the entire camp. After that, he'd held a speech about using his powers too much and how dangerous it was for Nico, who could just nod silently.

"I don't understand. How were they able to get over the borders?" Percy asked and since no one knew the answer, they all looked at Chiron questioningly.

"To be honest, I don't know how they did it." He admitted and now some of the head counsellors began to whisper with each other. "But we have to remember that it was not the first time that someone got into the camp who should not have been able to do it." At those words, he looked at Nico who nodded slowly.

"However, this is different." He said loudly and now everyone's attention turned towards him. "A ghost and a monster can't be compared to each other. And first, I thought that maybe I was wrong when I said that there was a connection between those two incidents. Now I'm not sure anymore."

"An attack on the camp a few days after a ghost told you that another war is about to start? Yeah, no connection at all." Percy murmured and a few other people nodded. "So what are we going to do now? I mean, after everything that's happened we have to assume that there'll be another attack on the camp soon."

"We have to patrol at the borders more often." Clarisse announced loudly and looked at Chiron. "And while doing that we need more weapons. And wouldn't it be good if we improve the training program as well?"

"It should have been done a long time ago…" The head counselor of the cabin of a minor god murmured and earned a reproachful look from Annabeth.

"Don't you think that it's more important to decide what we're going to do to stop these attacks?" she asked and her grey eyes scanned everyone in the room determinedly.

After a few moments of silence, Chiron nodded. "Nevertheless, we must strengthen the borders of the camp and it would be an advantage if we train more often. If another attack will take place soon, we need to be ready for it. However, we have to find out who is responsible for all this."

"Sadly, there aren't any prophecies anymore. That would have made everything easier." Someone murmured, but Nico and the others shook their heads immediately.

"Believe me, they don't make it easier. Just more complicated than it already is." Percy said slowly and his expression was thoughtful. Among the demigods, he knew best what he was talking about. There was no one else whose life has been as controlled by prophecies as Percy's…


	10. More Problems Ahead

**Another chapter! I don't know it you like it, so please let me know what you think. Some of the ideas here came out of nowhere and I'm not sure if you can understand my thoughts behind it so it's no problem if you ask questions or something like that. I always love to hear the thoughts of other people concerning my stories. I'm trying to write the next chapter this week as well, but until then have fun at reading this one ;)  
**

 **I don't own the characters!**

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

 **Nico POV**

Why didn't it surprise Nico that his dreams got worse after the events of the previous days? Well, maybe because after all he still was a son of Hades. Or because his dreams have never been really nice. It didn't matter right now anyway.

Right now, he was standing in a forest. He didn't know how he got there or where the forest was. It was dark and cold. There were clouds covering the moon and the stars, so that it was difficult for Nico to see anything. However, that didn't mean that he couldn't _hear_ anything as well.

First, it sounded like a river or a little stream, but when Nico followed the noises for a while, he realized that it were voices. The voices of other people and when his senses didn't deceive him, at least one of them was angry. Nico hesitated for half a second until he continued to move towards the source of the noises. He didn't know why he dispensed with his powers, but somehow he had the feeling that he would be discovered if he did so. The voices sounded strange, like they were distorted in some way and Nico frowned. He had heard this kind of sounds some time ago, however he couldn't remember when or where.

He had to walk for several minutes, before he could finally locate the place where the voices came from and when he could see it in the darkness, he would have liked to hit himself. Because he really knew that kind of noises. It was the sound of people speaking in a cave. And where did he hear that some time ago? Bingo! Underworld. As a child of Hades, he should have realized that earlier, shouldn't he?

He just wanted to set his foot on a stone in front of the cave, when one of the voices began to shout and Nico froze in his movements. "Didn't I tell you to wait?" The angry voice of a man shouted and Nico hid himself behind a tree quickly. He didn't have the urge to get caught right now, even if it just was a dream.

"Yes, master. You did. But we thought-"

"I don't care what you're thinking! You are serving ME and you have to carry out MY orders! It doesn't matter if you have ideas or anything like that, it's not important and you should forget them as soon as possible! What am I saying, you should forget them IMMEDIATELY!" Suddenly, the voice stopped and Nico's sharp ears could make out the sound of someone breathing heavily.

"Master…?" the other voice asked hesitantly and it wasn't difficult to locate the fear in it.

"Stop that! That's better. And now take a few steps back... Good. It seems as if you aren't as hopeless as I thought. And now tell me if it worked. Your _plan_." Nico had to grimace at the mass of sarcasm in the last word and he could hear the other person murmur something.

"What did you say?" The man, who apparently didn't hear the reply as well, asked slowly and Nico's urge to take a look into the cave got stronger. However, he resisted it.

"The demigods…. My lord… the demigods, they… they… defeated us." Nico could barely hear the end of the sentence and as soon as it was finished, the other person began to shout again, this time even angrier as before.

"YOU STUPID, USELESS CREATURE! FAILURE I SHOULD CALL YOU! I WANT THE DEMIGODS DEAD!" At those words, Nico had to cover his mouth with both hands to remain silent. The demigods dead? Could this really be the man the ghost had spoken of? And was the incident they were talking about the attack on Camp Half-Blood the previous day?

"If you would have waited for my orders, they would never have been able to win this fight. They would not have seen it coming. The demigods would have been dead in the moment my forces entered their camp…. But now they are expecting another attack. Thanks to you I will have to make a new plan. One which is able to succeed. And now we have to talk about your punishment."

"M… Master?" The other voice squealed, but it was too late. And it was also too late for Nico to run into the forest, before the pained screams reached his ears.

* * *

When he opened his eyes, the first thing Nico noticed was the sun shining through one of the windows of the Hades cabin. Apparently, he had forgotten to close the curtains after the events of the previous day. He had just been too tired.

With a growl, he covered his face with the blanket again and turned around so that he was lying on his stomach now. For a few seconds, he just wished that it was dark again and that he could get more sleep, but suddenly the memories of his dream came back and Nico sat up immediately, every thought of more sleep vanished.

Closing his eyes, he tried to remember every second of the conversation he had heard. Yes, it had been about the attack on Camp Half-Blood and the person who had spoken wanted the demigods to be dead. And the poor fellow who had started the failed battle had to die a painful death. Now they were planning something else, which was going to be even more dangerous for the camp…

But who was the man who had spoken in the cave? Nothing about the voice or the choice of words showed anything about his identity. And the other person didn't say anything as well. _Master…_ That could be everyone with a certain amount of power. Now they just had to find out who it was and what they could do to stop him.

Slowly, Nico stood up and searched a few clothes he could wear. At the end he decided to take a black jeans, a dark grey t-shirt and his usual black trainers. Will would be thrilled.

After he had closed the door of his cabin behind him, Nico covered his eyes for a few seconds before they got used to the sun. Why couldn't the Hades cabin stand in the shadows of a few trees or something like that? The first thing he saw were the children of Ares, wearing their armor and carrying weapons towards the forest. There they wanted to develop new tactics which could help them against the monsters. Clarisse was leading them and when she saw Nico, she nodded at him. He returned the gesture and watched them walking towards the trees for a few more seconds. Then he turned away to search Will.

It seemed as if nearly the entire camp was already awake and everyone had something to do. Many people were going to train and others, like the children of Hephaestus were trying to invent new technologies to defend the borders of Camp Half-Blood. Nico tried not to get too close to them since he feared to be asked silly questions and right now, he wasn't in the mood for it. The Poseidon cabin was still dark and so he assumed that Percy was still sleeping, but it didn't bother Nico. Somehow, he wanted that Will knew of his dream first. The others would be informed soon enough.

When he finally reached the Apollo cabin, one of Will's half-sisters who had been sitting in the grass stood up quickly. "Good morning Nico." She greeted him and he murmured an answer, which made the girl – Clara, he remembered – smile widely. "Will is in the infirmary, if you're looking for him."

"Thank you." Nico answered and couldn't stop himself from smiling a little bit as well. When he turned around to walk away again, he shook his head in amusement. Since when was he so nice?

"Watch out!" A voice behind him called and Nico took a few steps to the right just when two children of Hermes ran towards the infirmary. He didn't have to look at what they were carrying. The constricting feeling in his stomach told him enough. Suddenly, the door swung open and when Will saw the two boys and what they were carrying, he began to run towards them. However, he froze when he saw Nico and the look on his face. Nico saw his boyfriend become as white as a sheet and when the two sons of Hermes reached him, Will knelt down beside the person they were carrying.

Nico should have went to them to see if everything was alright. He could have said something to make them feel better. Everything would have been better than just to stand there and watch them from the distance, but right now his legs didn't obey the orders of his head.

It didn't take long before Will stood up again and one of the sons of Hermes cried out loudly. His brother wanted to say something to comfort him, but he just ran away towards their cabin. The other one hesitated and looked at Will, but he said something which made him follow his brother quickly. Now Will just stood there and looked at the girl lying in the grass, looking as if she was sleeping peacefully.

Slowly, two other children of Apollo left the infirmary and went to Will and the girl on the ground. Hesitantly, one of them took her into his arms, while the other one covered her body with a white sheet. Right before they left, one of them whispered something into Will's ear, who looked up to meet Nico's gaze immediately.

Slowly, Nico began to walk towards Will and when he had nearly reached the son of Apollo, Will wrapped his strong arms around him and hid his face in Nico's neck. He didn't cry or say anything for a long time and Nico couldn't do anything as well. What could he have said? _I'm sorry. Don't be sad. People die every day and it's nothing too bad. We're going to end this battle._ Wouldn't those things make everything just worse? Or would they sound like empty promises?

So he couldn't do anything else than to hold Will in his arms and wait until the other one was able to look into his eyes again. "I'm sorry." Nico whispered and something that looked like a smile appeared on Will's lips.

"Thank you." Will murmured. "For being here." He added when Nico didn't understand him. He let go of his shoulders and took his hand. "Do you want to have breakfast…?" he asked hesitantly and Nico shook his head slowly.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you first." When he saw the uneasy expression on Will's face return, Nico would have liked to slap himself. What a bad choice of words. He kissed Will on his lips quickly and took his hand. "Come on, Sunshine." He smiled at Will to show him that everything was all right and the son of Apollo started to relax again. However, there was still this tension from what just happened and Nico couldn't blame him for it. He still had that uneasy feeling in his stomach as well, but what else could they do than to carry on? After the battle, a few demigods had died and the healers in the infirmary hadn't been able to help them anymore. Nico had been there with Will and the son of Apollo had cried for a long time. Sadly, this wasn't the right moment to cry over the dead. At least not for the two of them and their closest friends.

Nico was leading Will towards the forest, where they could be alone for a few moments. There, he sat down on a tree trunk.

When he turned to Will, he saw that he was looking at him with a worried expression on his face. "Are you okay?" Will asked quietly and Nico nodded. "I mean, you look terrible, Death Boy." With his hand, he carefully touched Nico's cheek and then he let his fingers trace over the dark rings under his eyes. Nico closed them at his touch and sighed.

"Couldn't I ask you the same?" He murmured and Will swallowed. However, he didn't wait for a reply. "I've had a dream." Nico began and described everything that he'd seen and felt to his friend. Will listened silently and his eyes grew wider when Nico mentioned the death of the demigods and the new plan to reach this goal. When he finally finished his story, Will's eyes had the size of saucers and he was nearly as pale as Nico himself.

"We have to tell the others about it." He whispered and Nico nodded.

"It's time to go on a quest and find the one who is responsible for all this." He added and couldn't stop himself from feeling bad at those words. A quest without a prophecy? That couldn't end well, could it?

Will sighed. "Why does the life as a demigod have to be so hard?" He murmured and Nico couldn't answer his question.

"But we've got each other, don't we? And we wouldn't have met if one of us would be normal. So it can't be that bad after all."

Before Nico knew what was happening, Will had wrapped his arms around Nico's shoulders and kissed him passionately. He could feel Will smiling into the kiss and so he just kissed him back, allowing himself to forget all their problems for some time.


	11. Three Is A Good Number

**Next chapter! I hope you like it and it would be great to get some reviews to this story, that always motivates me to go on writing. So please tell me what you think!**

 **I don't own the characters!**

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

 **Will POV**

"Do you really think this is a good idea?" Percy asked hesitantly and Will could see him frowning at Nico across the table. "I mean, without a prophecy and so on it's going to get pretty difficult, isn't it?"

Next to him, Nico shook his head. "It would be difficult with a prophecy as well." He argued and Will looked at his boyfriend. Right after Nico had told him about his dream, they had talked to Chiron and now the head counselors of the cabins of Camp Half-Blood were sitting in the Big House and had to decide what they were going to do next. "Because I don't think that it would give us a hint where to start the search for something useful." Nico added and his expression was worried. This and the lack of sleep made him look even paler than usual and Will didn't like it. He would have loved to drag the son of Hades back to his cabin and let him sleep for a few hours. Sadly, that wasn't possible right now. Every one of them was needed here.

"And besides, a quest is always dangerous. So that wouldn't be anything new as well." Will added to help Nico and the younger boy shot him a grateful look.

"Nevertheless, we have to decide who will go and where they start their quest." Annabeth said loudly and many of the other people in the room nodded quietly. To Will's surprise, many of them had remained silent since the meeting had started. Normally, everyone wanted to present his or her opinion and often there was pure chaos. Why was it different this time?

"But do you really think that a dream is prove enough to go out on a quest?" The head counselor of the Hermes cabin asked. His condescending tone and the way he was looking at Nico made Will stare at him angrily and he would have liked to say something mean to him. Suddenly, Nico squeezed Will's hand and when he turned his head to look at him, Nico's expression seemed to say 'Don't worry, it's okay. I can deal with it.' Slowly, Will relaxed again and nodded shortly. Then he turned his attention to the others again.

"It wasn't just a dream." Jason cut in and the son of Hermes raised his eyebrows. "First, there was this ghost on the grounds of Camp Half-Blood which shouldn't be possible. Then the tension started to rise and Nico and others got strange dreams. I think I don't have to mention the attack yesterday. And now this. Aren't these enough signs for something bad coming towards us?"

"Yes, I would believe it. However all those things happened to _him"_ he pointed at Nico "and no one else can prove it!"

"Why shouldn't we believe him?" Jason asked quietly and crossed his arms. "Nico has showed many times that he only wants us to be safe. Take the last war, for example. There he has done things no one would have even dared to think of, just to stop Gaea from waking up again."

"And in the war against Kronos and the Titans we fought side by side." Percy added and many other demigods started to murmur approvingly.

"We are not here to discuss Nico's trustworthiness." Chiron cut in loudly and it didn't take long until everyone was silent again. From the corner of his eyes, Will looked at Nico and to his surprise he found his boyfriend smiling calmly at Chiron, Jason and Percy. "I believe him and what he has told us is very alarming. I have no idea who could be the one who plans to attack us again, but from what you say he has to be very powerful."

"And he's got an army." Percy added, however this wasn't very helpful. Or reassuring.

"What about the others? Is Camp Jupiter in danger as well?" Will asked and looked around. Now many clueless faces were staring at him and normally, he would have started to feel uncomfortable. Luckily, Nico was holding his hand which stopped his heart from beating uncontrollably.

"First Camp Half-Blood, then Camp Jupiter…" Nico murmured and nodded slowly. "It's going to be that way, I feel it."

For a few moments, Chiron just looked at him thoughtfully. At length, he nodded. "That's what I fear as well." He admitted and closed his eyes as if it would prevent it from happening when he just thought of it long enough.

"So who will go?" Piper asked into the following silence and no one dared to answer that question.

"Maybe we should speak to someone from Camp Jupiter first…" The head counselor of the Hephaestus cabin began hesitantly. "I mean, when they want to attack the Romans as well, they should also be able to decide what we're going to do now, right?"

"Two demigods of Camp Half-Blood, one of Camp Jupiter." Jason said after some time and Chiron raised his eyebrows at him. "It has started here. I'm sure they'll understand."

"And if they don't want to take part on the quest?"

"We still can find one other person who wants to go with them."

"But who are 'they'?" Will turned to Annabeth, who had asked the last question and he saw Percy and Jason exchange uncertain looks.

"They have to think about it wisely." Chiron said and looked at all of them, frowning. "It is going to be very dangerous and none of us can even assume what they will have to face. And this time, I'm afraid that there aren't many people who can help them on their quest."

Again, a silence followed his words and after some time, Will thought that no one would ever say something again. Suddenly, he felt Nico move next to him and when he turned his head, he saw a determined expression on his boyfriend's face. "I'll go." Nico announced loudly and now everyone else turned his or her attention towards him as well.

"Nico… are you sure?" Will's heart seemed to be frozen and only Chiron's hesitant voice took him back to reality.

Nico swallowed and nodded. "Yes, I can't explain it, but somehow I have the feeling that it's me who has to do this."

Chiron looked at him for a few more seconds, before he nodded thoughtfully. "I know what you mean and in the past few days that presumption has been creeping up on me as well." He admitted and frowned. "A son of Hades who goes on a quest to find the person who is responsible for the darkness that is hanging over us…"

"You won't go out there without me!" Those words had left Will's mouth before he even knew that he wanted to say them and now many shocked faces weren't turned to Nico anymore. However, he didn't care. Everything that mattered was Nico's expression right now and Will saw two different things there. Disapproval and gratefulness at the same time.

"You don't have to do that." Nico was whispering now and Will doubted that any of the other people in the room could hear him. "I can take care of myself very well." Did he imagine it or was Nico sounding a little insecure?

Will took Nico's hands and squeezed them. "I know that you could do this alone, but I want to help you. And I want to be there for you, if you need me." He looked into Nico's eyes and smiled slightly. "I mean, if you don't want me to come-"

"Will, are you crazy?" Nico asked and Will could only stare at him when his boyfriend actually started to laugh. "You really think that I don't want you to join me on the quest? I was rather thinking about you and your safety! Of course I want you by my side."

For a few seconds, he could only stare at Nico without being able to say something. So he just shook his head. "My safety." Will murmured slightly. "I don't think that anything really bad can happen as long as we're together."

Nico, who was still grinning at him, chuckled softly. "I hope you're right, Sunshine. Otherwise we should talk again and I can already say that it won't look good for you then."

With a last smile in Nico's direction, Will turned towards Chiron and the other head counselors again. They were all pretending to do something right now and he was grateful that they'd given him and Nico at least a little space to exchange a few words before the meeting continued. "I'll go with Nico." Will announced loudly and no one in the room seemed to be surprised. Percy even grinned at him widely and Jason looked at him forcefully, which made Will feel a little uncomfortable. He already knew that the son of Zeus wanted to talk to him later.

"Does anyone want to say something against their decision to go on the quest together?" Chiron asked and it was silent in the room. The centaur nodded with a pleased expression on his face and turned to Nico and Will. "We will contact the representatives of Camp Jupiter and you can set out on your quest as soon as you've found the third member of your group. I don't like to say this, but you all know that we have to make haste. And while they have left the camp to find information about our enemy, we have to make plans for the defenses and train even harder. It will not be easy, however I am sure that we are going to win the next fight, when we only stand together and help each other whenever it is necessary."

* * *

"This is bad…" Reyna murmured and covered her face with her hands. "Very, very bad. We have to do something." Slowly, she looked up again and Will could see the concern in her eyes even through the Iris message. "Do you really think that a quest without a prophecy can be successful?"

Next to Will, Nico nodded. "A prophecy wouldn't make this easier, would it? Yes, we would have something to hold on to, but it's a riddle itself and prophecies can cause trouble and make you believe the wrong things as well. Ask Percy if you have the time, I'm sure he can tell you a long story about it." He paused for a few moments and frowned at their friends from Camp Jupiter. "What I wanted to say is that we have to do something, just like Reyna said and we can't wait for a miracle to happen. We have to act right now, if we want it or not. And I have the feeling that before we're going to leave the camp there'll be something that can help us."

"And what do you think will help you?" Hazel asked and raised her eyebrows at her brother.

However, Nico shrugged. "I don't know. You just have to trust me, I think."

"We do." Will assured him immediately and Nico smiled when Reyna, Hazel and Frank nodded as well.

"And now you want us to decide if one of us will go with you?" Frank asked again and this time it was Will who nodded.

"This isn't just about Camp Half-Blood. They will attack you as well. We don't know if it'll happen when we're still fighting or when our camp is…" He hesitated, not wanting to finish that sentence. _When our camp is already lost…_

"Fact is that you aren't safe as well and we want to give you a chance to help us win this war before it has really started." Nico cut in quickly and Will shot him a grateful look.

"What a stupid question." Hazel murmured and rolled her eyes. "Of course we want to help you! You don't even have to ask."

Reyna and Frank nodded. "Without Greeks who like to do stupid things, the world would be far too boring!" Frank added, which earned him a reproachful look from Hazel, who was sitting next to him.

"So now we still have to decide who is going to join you on your quest." Reyna murmured before the others could start to argue. There was a strange expression on her face, like a mixture of determination and uncertainty. Will didn't know what he should think of it, but apparently Nico seemed to understand what she was thinking. It shouldn't surprise Will, at least the two of them had become friends after their long journey with the Athena Parthenos. Nevertheless, there was this strange feeling in his stomach again that was – according to one of his brothers – jealousy.

"You can admit that you want to come with us, Reyna." Nico said loudly and ripped Will out of his thoughts.

Right now, Reyna looked like a child who has been caught at stealing chocolate from the cupboard of its parents and a sheepish smile appeared on her lips. Unlike Nico, Hazel, Frank and Will looked at her questioningly and after some time, Reyna couldn't stand it anymore and laughed softly. "He's right, I was thinking about going on that quest myself. It's been some time since I've been out there myself and I don't feel like I can do anything as long as I'm sitting here in Camp Jupiter."

"And what should we do here without you?" Frank asked and Will could see the worry in his eyes. They were a team and without Reyna, Frank would have to deal with many things alone.

"Hazel can help you as long as I'm on the quest." Reyna answered immediately and looked at Hazel, who nodded slowly.

"If you tell me what exactly I have to do it won't be a problem." She murmured and after a few more moments, her expression became more confident.

Reyna smiled gratefully and turned towards Nico and Will again. "So when will we start?" she asked and Will had to grin at the excitement in her voice.

"As soon as we've got a place to start we can go." Nico replied and frowned. "I think during the next three days we should be able to figure something out."

Reyna nodded and the look on her face became thoughtful again. "We have to meet somewhere."

"We'll pick you up at Camp Jupiter. When we shadow travel, we'll be there in a few moments." Nico must have seen Will's expression since he squeezed his hand reassuringly. "You don't have to worry, we can take Mrs O'Leary. Then I won't have to do anything."

Slowly, Will relaxed again and he nodded with a sigh. "But I'll have an eye on you, Death Boy."

"Okay, so we'll meet in three days at the borders of Camp Jupiter." Reyna said into the silence that followed Will's words and they all looked at each other, as if they wanted to make sure that no one had doubts about their plan.

"That's the plan." Will replied Nico nodded.

"Then let's hope that we'll find a way to end all this." Reyna added just before the Iris message in front of them began to vanish and Will and Nico were alone again.


End file.
